Rogue Darkness

Book 12: Immortal Guardians

by Dianne Duvall, Kirsten Potter

Genres: Vampires; Supernatural suspense

Synopsis

A gifted one under the Immortal Guardians' protection, Nicole has worked hard to land her dream job—that of an Immortal Guardian's Second or mortal guard—and loves working with Sean. He's smart. He's funny. And despite the sometimes dark existence he leads, the two of them laugh a lot. Years spent as a special ops soldier prepared Nicole well, enabling her to keep Sean safe despite his tendency to dive headlong into danger. But can it keep her safe? The enemy they face is determined and shrewd. Uncovering his identity may require new methods of engagement and force her to take a few risks.



Sean hasn't been immortal long, but he knows the rules. And according to the rules, Nicole is off-limits. She's his Second. His guard. His best friend. The one person who knows him better than anyone else. Though he loves every minute he spends with her, friendship is all they can ever have . . . isn't it? Sean soon begins to question that as the two of them engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with the enemy, one that will reveal the true depth of their feelings for each other and drive him to abandon the rules altogether.



Contains mature themes.

Release date: June 13, 2023

Publisher: Dianne Duvall

Print pages: 364

Sample

Prologue

A few months earlier

SEAN LINZ THREW A dagger that buried itself in a vampire’s neck, then swung his katana at the opponent in front of him. Clangs, growls, grunts, and cries of pain disrupted the night’s quiet as he, his sister—Krysta, and her husband—Étienne fought a large vampire crew that had descended upon UNC Chapel Hill’s campus.

There must’ve been almost two dozen of them. If the enhanced sense of smell Sean had gained when he’d become immortal hadn’t warned him otherwise, he would’ve thought they were frat boys out making mischief. But his nose had caught the scent of blood that clung to their clothing.

As Sean sliced up the vampire in front of him, another slipped around behind him and tried to hamstring him. Sean shifted at the last moment, grunting when the blade cut across his outer thigh. After decapitating the vampire in front of him with a swipe of his sword, he spun around to confront the asshole behind him.

These vampires all appeared to be newly turned. Most still retained enough sanity to look nervous when their companions began to fall beneath the Immortal Guardians’ blades.

Not so confident now, are you, dipshits? Sean thought.

He spared his sister a glance to see how she fared.

Krysta was kicking ass, as usual, thanks to her ability to see auras and anticipate the vampires’ next movements.

Étienne grunted as a gash opened on his cheek.

“Stop watching me, damn it,” Krysta snapped. “Keep your eyes on your opponent.”

“Watching you kick ass,” Étienne called back, “is far more entertaining.”

Both were holding their own.

The body of Sean’s latest foe hit the ground and began to shrivel up at his feet.

“Sean?” Krysta called. “How you doing over there?”

“I’m good,” he answered, opening the carotid artery of his next opponent.

Panic lit the vampire’s glowing blue eyes as he stumbled backward, dropped his long bowie knife, and tried to stem the rapid blood flow. One of his fellow vampires didn’t move out of the way fast enough and accidentally stabbed the vamp in the back.

Sean saluted him. “Thank you.” He pivoted to face the vampire behind him.

The vampire’s gray eyes lost their glow as they rolled back in his head. His bowie knives clattered to the pavement as he sank to the ground, a tranquilizer dart protruding from his chest.

Nicole. He should’ve known his Second would shadow them. Like Melanie, she had minor precognitive abilities and had warned him earlier that she had a bad feeling about tonight.

Something flew past Sean's

 left ear with a thwit.

He spun to find the vampire who had accidentally stabbed his friend lunging toward him with his blade raised high.

The vamp stopped short and frowned at the dart that now stuck out of his chest. Then his eyes rolled back, and he sank to the ground.

“Damn it!” Krysta shouted suddenly.

“They’re running,” Étienne announced, his French accent tinged with disgust. “Bloody cowards.”

Sean looked around. Seven vampires streaked away with preternatural speed. One jerked to a halt and sank to the ground, thanks to another dart fired by Nicole. “Go,” he told the couple. “I’ll take care of these.”

Krysta shook her head. “Seth said not to hunt alone, to—”

“I’m not alone. Nicole is backing me up.” And Sean doubted Seth—the immensely powerful leader of the Immortal Guardians—would want this crew to live to kill another night.

A dart struck one of the four remaining vampires in the neck.

“See?” he added. “I’ll be fine. Don’t let those bastards get away.”

Though both looked uncertain, Krysta and Étienne took off after the others, leaving his sight within seconds.

Two vampires struck Sean in tandem while the third—wearing a baseball cap—hung back and bided his time. Nicole took out one of the vamps Sean fought with a dart before the bastard could sneak around and attack his back. Sean wounded the second, then turned to face the third.

The vampire’s head lifted, the bill of his cap rising to reveal his features.

Shock rippled through Sean, freezing him in place. It was a woman. A slender woman, who couldn’t be more than twenty-two or twenty-three years old, wearing baggy clothes that concealed her feminine form.

Her eyes glowed green as rage darkened her pretty features.

“Oh shit,” Nicole whispered somewhere behind him.

The woman’s hands tightened around the hilts of the deadly katanas she wielded. Her fangs gleamed in the moonlight.

Sean stared in horror. A female vampire? He had never fought a female vampire before.

 He’d never even seen one. Insanity usually drove male vampires to kill the human women they captured long before the women could complete the transformation. But Gershom—the Immortal Guardians’ vicious nemesis—had implanted commands in the local vampires’ minds, compelling many to turn more humans. If a vampire who hadn’t yet surrendered to the madness had caught this woman, he might have been sane enough to transform her instead of killing her.

Sean’s stomach churned. The idea of decapitating this woman sickened him.

Could she be one of the missing immortals?

Gershom had kidnapped a dozen gifted ones and transformed them so he could build his own army of immortals. This woman’s green eyes made it highly unlikely that she was one of them. Almost all gifted ones—individuals born with advanced DNA that lent them special gifts—had brown eyes that glowed amber once they became immortal. There had only been one exception in thousands of years.

The woman ducked to the side, dodging a tranquilizer dart. Then dodged another. And another.

He gaped. Holy shit! No way was this woman a vampire. “Call Seth!” he ordered.

The woman tossed her katana up in the air, drew a dagger, and threw it. Catching the katana as it fell, she leaped forward.

Behind him, Nicole grunted.

Sean hastily raised his weapons as the woman attacked. She was incredibly fast. So fast that he had to dedicate all of his attention to fending off her strikes.

A thud sounded behind him, like that caused by a body hitting the ground.

Shit! Had the dagger hit Nicole?

Worry rose as he deflected blow after blow of the woman’s swords. “Nicole?” he called.

Silence.

One of the woman’s blades carved a path across his chest as she took advantage of his distraction. Damn, she was strong. She had to be an immortal.

“Nicole!” he shouted, panic suffusing him when she didn’t answer. Was she dead? Had this woman killed her?

His foe landed another strike. She fought like an elder Immortal Guardian. How the hell was that possible? At best, she should match Sean in speed and strength and be his equal. Instead, she was kicking his ass.

He parried every blow, but the sheer power behind them slowly drove him backward. Even if she slipped and gave him an opening, he couldn’t strike a killing blow. Seth wanted the missing immortals taken alive. So how the hell was he going to get out of this? He couldn’t fight her and contact Seth at the same time. He wasn’t telepathic and had to use a phone.

Could he hold her here until Krysta and Étienne returned?

A moan sounded behind him.

Relief rushed through him, thickening his throat. Nicole wasn’t dead.

He dug in his heels, not wanting the female immortal to get any closer to wherever Nicole lay, and kept her busy so she couldn’t throw another dagger.

The long blade of her katana sank into his side and stayed there.

Agony engulfed him. Sean sucked in a breath, then drew his blade across her thigh.

She barely seemed to notice. “Immortal, my ass,” she sneered, and yanked her sword out. “If you bleed, you can die.”

It hurt so much that Sean nearly sank to his knees.

She renewed her assault. “The other vampires fear you.” She scored another hit. “They think you’re strong.”

Pain lanced through him when she came damned close to severing his arm with another powerful strike. His sword fell from lax fingers, leaving him one weapon against her two.

“But you aren’t. You’re weak,” she taunted in a voice full of hate. “Killing you will be easy.”

Rapid thwicks reached his ears.

The woman danced backward as blood spurted from multiple bullet holes that opened in her chest.

The shooting stopped.

“He isn’t weak, you stupid

bitch,” Nicole gritted.

Sean risked a glance over his shoulder.

His Second leaned against the corner of the nearest building, a dagger sticking out of her left shoulder. Blood stained her teeth and poured down one side of her face from a head wound as she aimed a 9mm equipped with a top-of-the-line suppressor and extended magazine at the woman. “He’s honorable.”

Grass shifted.

Sean hastily looked back at the female immortal as she took a step toward him.

Nicole shot her again. Twice. “Too honorable to hit a woman, let alone kill her.”

The female immortal growled.

“Fortunately, I don’t have that problem.” Nicole shot her again, then again.

“Don’t kill her,” Sean huffed. Bending over, he grasped his injured arm. “Seth wants her taken alive.”

No more shots ensued.

“Seth?” the woman snarled, blood spilling from her lips. Her eyes flashed even brighter as they met Sean’s. “You tell that bastard I’m coming for him,” she wheezed.

Sean shook his head. “Tell him yourself. I can have him here in two seconds.”

Roaring in fury, she lunged forward.

Thwick, thwick, thwick.

More bullets struck home.

Staggering backward, the woman shook her head. Her weapons lowered as she fought for breath. “This isn’t… over,” she bit out. In the next instant, she spun around and dashed away in a blur even he could barely see. Her baseball cap tumbled to the grass at his feet, freeing long auburn hair.

Shit. That had not gone well.

Sean turned to face his Second. “Nicole?” He limped toward her.

She met his gaze. The hand holding the gun fell to her side. Her eyes closed. Her knees buckled.

Lunging forward with a growl, he caught her as she sank to the ground.

Pain wasn’t new to Sean. He had absorbed Krysta’s every time he’d healed her injuries during her six-year stint as the only successful mortal vampire hunter in history. But the immortal he’d just fought had wrought a lot of damage.

It took several seconds for him to find his breath. “Nicole?”

She didn’t move or respond, neither when he spoke nor when he jostled her.

Sean wanted desperately to call upon his gift and heal her with his hands but knew from experience that his body was too beat-up to be of service.

Holding her in place with his good arm, he clenched his teeth and forced his injured arm to work long enough to drag her phone from her back pocket and dial Seth.

“Yes?” Seth answered.

“It’s Sean. I just fought one of the missing immortals but couldn’t hold her. She’s on the run. Nicole’s hurt. And I’m too injured to heal her.”

“I have to go,” Seth murmured, his voice distant as though he’d lowered the phone. “May I exit this way?”

“Yes,” a woman said.

A door opened and shut.

“I’m on my way.” Seth ended the call.

Sean closed his eyes. Please hurry. Nicole still breathed, but that dagger had come damned close to piercing her heart.

Seth appeared several yards away with his hand on Ami’s shoulder.

Barefoot, the petite redhead Seth loved like a daughter wore only a nightgown that left her arms bare and stopped just above her knees.

Shrugging out of his long coat, Seth draped it around her shoulders to protect her from the chilly breeze. “One of the missing immortals was just here. See if you can lock down on her energy signal while I help Nicole.” He zipped over to Sean and crouched before him. “Where are Krysta and Étienne?”

Sean gently lowered Nicole to the ground and withdrew his touch. “Chasing half a dozen vampires who made a run for it.”

Seth removed the dagger from Nicole’s shoulder and rested his hand on the wound.

“There are too many energy signatures here,” Ami murmured. “I can’t figure out which

one is hers.”

Ami fascinated Sean. Apparently, every individual produced an energy signal that was as unique as a fingerprint. And Ami was the only person in the world who could identify that signal and use it like a homing beacon to track people.

Seth caught Sean’s gaze. “Which way did she go?”

He pointed in the direction the woman had fled.

Nodding, Seth rose. “I’ll heal you when I return.” Crossing to Ami, Seth lifted her into his arms and took off in a blur of motion.

Sean did his best to ignore the pain that pummeled him as he drew Nicole into his arms again.

Her head wound no longer bled. Like her shoulder wound, Seth had healed it. And if she were critically low on blood, Seth would’ve teleported her to network headquarters before he’d zipped away with Ami.

“She’s okay,” he whispered with a sigh of relief as he settled in to wait. “She’s okay.”

***

Nicole sighed as an arm drew her closer to a warm, muscled chest. Smiling, she snuggled her face into soft fabric… then grimaced. It was wet and sticky.

Her eyes flew open. Sean held her in his arms. Sort of. He cradled her on his lap, one arm supporting her back. The other hung limply at his side.

“Oh shit!” She sat up so quickly that she nearly rammed her head into his chin. “Are you okay?” After scrambling out of his lap, she knelt before him and gave him a quick once-over. He looked like crap but still lived and breathed. Nicole lunged for the 9mm she’d dropped, then palmed it, spun around, and aimed at… nothing. Her heart raced as she searched for the vampire who—

“It’s okay,” Sean said. “She’s gone.”

“Are you sure?” That hadn’t been a vampire. The speed and strength the woman had displayed clearly labeled her one of the immortals their enemy had turned against them. For all Sean knew, the woman could be circling around to come up behind them.

Rotating, Nicole eyed the corner of the nearest building.

“She’s gone,” Sean repeated, every word belying his discomfort. “Seth and Ami are tracking her.”

Now that her initial panic was subsiding, Nicole noticed that the agony in her head and shoulder had vanished. Fatigue pummeled her, but other than that… “Seth healed me?”

Sean nodded.

“He didn’t heal you?”

“No time.”

Seth must’ve worried Ami would lose the trail if he delayed further. He’d heal Sean when he returned.

Nicole rose and then crossed to the backpack she’d discarded when the battle had begun. “Where are Krysta and Étienne?”

“Still chasing down the others, I guess.”

Grabbing the pack, she returned and settled on her knees before Sean. Most people who encountered her probably assumed the backpack was full of college textbooks and would be shocked to discover that instead it sported multiple pockets and compartments chock-full of ammunition, tranquilizer darts, autoinjectors full of the antidote to the only drug that affected immortals, a spare phone, an extensive first aid kit, and a chilly compartment stuffed with bags of blood. She dug one of the latter out and handed it to Sean.

He took it with a smile of gratitude and raised it to his mouth. As soon as his fangs descended, he sank them into the bag and started siphoning the blood directly into his veins.

Nicole caught a blur of motion approaching and hastily raised her weapon.

Krysta and Étienne skidded to a halt, raising their hands.

“It’s okay,” Krysta said. “It’s just us.”

Relieved, Nicole holstered her weapon.

Krysta frowned, her pretty face filling with concern as she took in her brother’s haggard appearance. “What happened?”

When Sean would’ve lowered the bag, Nicole touched his hand to stay him and answered for him. “The shortest vampire ended up being one of the missing gifted ones Gershom transformed.”

Both swore as their eyes

widened.

“I don’t know how or why,” Nicole continued, “but she was as strong and fast as an ancient and would’ve killed Sean if I hadn’t shot her repeatedly until she had no choice but to either surrender or run.”

Étienne frowned at the fallen vampires that littered the ground. Their bodies shriveled up like mummies as the peculiar symbiotic virus that infected them devoured them from the inside out in a desperate bid to continue living. “I take it she ran?”

“Yeah. Seth and Ami are tracking her.”

Krysta knelt and drew Nicole into a brief hug. “Thank you for having Sean’s back.”

She smiled. “It’s my job.”

“And you’re damned good at it.” Gingerly touching Nicole’s bloody face, she frowned. “What about you? Are you okay?”

“I’m good. Seth healed me.”

Sean lowered the empty blood bag. “She took a dagger in the shoulder and still saved my ass.”

Pride and pleasure filled Nicole as she handed him another bag of blood. “According to the ladies,” she quipped, “it’s an ass well worth saving.”

All laughed.

Krysta and Étienne began collecting the weapons the fallen vampires had dropped.

Nicole hovered near Sean, whose wounds began to mend as the virus within him went to work.

Seth abruptly reappeared with Ami in his arms.

Several beeps sounded as the tiny devices in Nicole, Sean, Krysta, and Étienne’s pockets notified them of his return. Every Immortal Guardian and his or her Second had started carrying the devices when Gershom had demonstrated his incredible shape-shifting ability by assuming Seth’s appearance. Seth carried a similar device in his pocket that automatically triggered the others to beep when he popped in so they would know it was him and not Gershom impersonating him.

He lowered Ami’s feet to the ground. “Can you stay a little longer in case she doubles

back?”

“Of course,” Ami replied. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

Nicole glanced at her.

Ami was barefoot and wore a short nightgown topped with a huge coat. Seth must have lent her his to protect her from the cool breeze. Since Ami was barely five feet tall and Seth was six feet eight, she looked like a fragile child wearing her daddy’s overcoat. But that appearance was deceiving. Even though Ami wasn’t an immortal, she fought like one.

Sean, Krysta, and Étienne regarded Seth grimly.

Her heart pounding a frantic beat, Nicole rose and faced him. Fear and dread soured her stomach. Seth wanted all the immortals Gershom led to be captured alive. He intended to help them see the truth—that they had been egregiously deceived—so he could induct them into the ranks of the Immortal Guardians. And Nicole had damned near emptied a mag into the one Sean had fought.

Sean lowered the now-empty blood bag. “Did you find her?”

“No.” His face dark with fury, Seth approached them.

Nicole fought a sudden urge to retreat a step. Or two. Or three. Seth was the most powerful man on the planet. Pissing him off was exceptionally unwise.

Kneeling, Seth splayed a hand on Sean’s chest. That hand acquired a faint golden glow as he healed the younger immortal’s wounds.

The lines of pain that marred Sean’s handsome face smoothed out as he released a relieved breath.

Clouds gathered overhead.

Everyone but Seth shared a wary look. The Immortal Guardian leader had spent thousands of years increasing his power and gaining new skills that no others possessed, such as the ability to control the weather. When his emotions ran high, however, that ability sometimes got away from him and reflected his inner turmoil.

As it did now.

Seth rose. “Étienne. Krysta.”

The couple crossed to his side.

Krysta had emerged from the battle without a scratch, but Étienne was pretty banged up.

As Seth healed Étienne’s wounds, thunder rumbled.

“Seth,” Ami said softly

, “it wasn’t your fault.”

Nicole held a hand out to Sean.

Grasping it, he let her tug him to his feet. “It was mine,” he admitted. “I should’ve called you as soon as I saw her. But her eyes glowed green, so I thought she was a vampire. It caught me off guard.”

Krysta frowned. “Are you sure she wasn’t a vampire? I thought our eyes all glowed amber. Except for Seth’s, Zach’s, and Jared’s, I mean.” Almost all gifted ones and immortals sported dark hair and brown eyes that glowed amber. Seth’s, Zach’s, and Jared’s glowed gold.

The wind picked up, whipping the trees into a fury

Seth shook his head. “Sarah’s eyes are hazel and glow green.”

“Oh. Right,” Krysta said. “I forgot.”

Sean shifted. “There’s something else.”

“Tell me,” Seth ordered.

“She may be newly turned, but she fought like an elder immortal.”

Nicole nodded. “She did. She was incredibly fast.”

“And strong,” Sean added. “She was kicking my ass and probably would’ve succeeded in killing me if the bullets hadn’t slowed her down.”

“I shot her,” Nicole blurted, wringing her hands. Might as well get the truth out there. “A lot.”

“No, she didn’t.” Sean stepped between her and Seth. “She’s trying to cover for me. I shot her.”

“Bullshit.” Nicole moved to stand beside him and sent him a scowl before facing Seth. “She really was kicking his ass. And not just because she was stronger. Sean wouldn’t take the offensive because he wasn’t comfortable striking a woman.”

Étienne frowned. “Merde. I didn’t think of that. I wouldn’t be comfortable hitting a woman either.”

“Well, I didn’t have a problem with it,” Nicole snapped. “No way in hell was I going to let her kill Sean. I shot her all to hell and would’ve kept it up if Sean hadn’t stopped me.” Straightening her shoulders, she lifted her chin and looked Seth in the eye. “I know you want her and the others taken alive. But my first priority is to keep

Sean safe, so… do whatever you have to do to punish me. I don’t regret it.” Holy crap, she was nervous though. Her hands even began to shake. Nicole was probably the only Second who had ever come this close to killing an immortal.

“Damn it, Nicole,” Sean ground out.

Seth raised a hand to halt whatever else he intended to say. “There will be no punishment, Nicole. You kept Sean safe, and the woman didn’t die. Next time, however, call me before you begin shooting.”

She relaxed a little. “I was reaching for my phone when the bitch threw a dagger at me. It hit me so hard that I fell back into the building. The next thing I knew, I was waking up, and she looked like she was about to decapitate Sean.”

Frowning, Sean touched the blood that coated the side of her face. “You must have hit your head on the side of the building.”

Since she couldn’t remember, she shrugged. “I guess so.”

Sighing, he dropped his hand and turned back to Seth. “How could that woman be so strong if she’s newly turned?”

Seth drew out his phone. After several taps and swipes, he held it out to Sean. “Which one was she?” he asked in lieu of answering.

Nicole glanced at it.

The photos app was open, displaying a woman’s headshot.

Sean wiped his crimson-coated hands on his pants and swore when both came away more bloody.

“Here.” Nicole turned away from him.

“Thanks.” Sean rubbed both hands on the back of her jacket, then took the phone.

While Nicole and the others waited, he swiped through a few photos. “This is her.” He glanced at Nicole. “Don’t you think?”

Leaning closer, she studied the picture. “Yeah. That’s her.” The bitterness that had darkened the woman’s features while she fought Sean was absent in the photo. Instead, she faced the camera with a friendly smile.

Some of the anger that had burned inside Nicole over Sean’s close brush with death gave way to remorse as she looked up at Seth. “I’m sorry I called her a bitch. It isn’t her fault Gershom is fucking with her head.” That bastard was twisting the minds of his immortals with

lies so they would help him defeat Seth.

Taking the phone, Seth studied the picture. “Tessa Hayes.”

Tessa Hayes.

Committing the name and face to memory, Nicole hoped fervently that she and Sean wouldn’t have to face the woman in battle again.

Chapter One

Present day

SEAN FELT HIS SECOND’S stare boring into him as he wolfed down the lasagna she’d prepared for them. Thank goodness immortals weren’t undead like the vampires in movies. If that had been the case, he would’ve missed many drool-worthy meals like this one.

Though it might seem like it should be pretty far down the list, one of his favorite perks of being an Immortal Guardian was the food. Incredibly enhanced speed, strength, and regenerative capabilities were awesome, of course. But he and Krysta had endured some lean times since leaving their parents’ abode to pursue their respective goals as adults.

After surviving a vampire attack as a freshman in college, Krysta spent several years becoming the only mortal in history to hunt and slay vampires and live to tell the tale. That last part had largely been due to Sean, who had studied medicine at Duke University while he did his damnedest to keep her alive. Since her vampire-hunting treks had limited the hours they could work to pay the bills…

Yeah. They’d had some lean times.

Yet that hadn’t bothered him nearly as much as having to sit on the sidelines night after night while she risked her life to protect those of future vampire victims. He had wanted to join her on the hunts. Unfortunately, ...